Summary
We examined whether recombinant human soluble thrombomodulin (rhs-TM) reduces compression
trauma-induced spinal cord injury through protein C activation in rats. Administration
of rhs-TM, either before or after the induction of spinal cord injury (SCI), markedly
reduced the resulting motor disturbances. However, neither rhs-TM pretreated with
an anti-rhs-TM monoclonal antibody (MAb) F2H5, which inhibits thrombin binding to
rhs-TM, nor those pretreated with MAb R5G12, which selectively inhibits protein C
activation by rhsTM, prevented the motor disturbances. Intramedullary hemorrhages,
observed 24 h after trauma, were significantly reduced in animals given rhs-TM. The
increase in the tissue levels of tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), TNF-α mRNA expression,
and the accumulation of leukocytes in the damaged segment of the spinal cord were
significantly inhibited in animals receiving rhs-TM, but these effects were not observed
following administration of rhs-TM pretreated with MAb R5G12 or MAb F2H5. Leukocytopenia
and activated protein C all produced effects similar to those of rhs-TM.
These findings suggest that rhs-TM prevents compression traumainduced SCI by inhibiting
leukocyte accumulation by reducing the expression of TNF-α mRNA and such therapeutic
effects of rhs-TM could be dependent on its protein C activation capacity. Findings
further suggest that thrombomodulin can be implicated not only in the coagulation
system but in regulation of the inflammatory response.
Keywords
Thrombomodulin - spinal cord injury - activated protein C - tumor necrosis factor-α
- leukocytes